


The Morning After

by Katalyna_Rose



Series: Elissa Cousland and Solona Amell [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Wedding, Romantic Fluff, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 06:33:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14467035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katalyna_Rose/pseuds/Katalyna_Rose
Summary: Elissa never once expected her husband to be her best friend and lover. The match was chosen for them, but he worked hard to gain her trust and earn her love. He succeeded, and in the morning after their wedding she could only think about how much she adored the man sleeping beside her.





	The Morning After

He was very handsome, her newly wed husband, Elissa thought as she gazed down at him in the early morning sunlight. She’d always thought he was handsome, even when she wanted nothing to do with him. Ferelden’s new king should be handsome. Not that he was really that new; his reign was nearing that of his half brother’s already with no reason to end early. Alistair was a good king, kind and direct, a friend of the common people. He had good advisors and good instincts and he learned well. And he had navigated the prickly thorns that she had wrapped around her heart during the two years that they’d been engaged until she had fallen for him, unexpectedly and thoroughly.

Once, she’d believed that she would never love again after Iona died in her arms. She’d certainly given him no cause to believe that she could love him, or was worthy of his love. When her brother had come to her with the news that Arl Eamon believed she would be a beneficial match for the new king, she’d laughed in his face and refused. He’d pleaded with her for the sake of the home they still hadn’t gotten back, the lives of all those who had been lost in Howe’s treachery, and the wounded leg he still nursed. He’d reminded her of all her strengths, that she was a good leader and she would do the Cousland name proud. He’d hounded her and pleaded until at last she gave in and accepted the proposal. She’d never expected her intended to try to get to know her, to show a genuine interest in her. And she’d certainly never expected him to allow her to adopt and then help raise the daughter of the woman she’d loved.

The day before they’d at last been wed amidst an enormous fanfare and hundreds of guests. The ceremony itself had been fairly short, but the reception afterward had dragged on forever until Nehna, her adopted daughter, had been put to bed by her elven nanny and nearly everyone in attendance was extremely drunk. Yet Alistair had sipped at a single glass of wine all night without finishing it and she’d had even less. When at last they were allowed to leave he’d taken her arm with a gentle smile and taken her to his bed. He was so generous, and kind, and so gentle with her. She’d had to assure him more than once that she was ready to take this step with him before he would so much as kiss her. Her sweet king had seen to her pleasure more than once before his own, and when they’d finally passed out from sheer exhaustion she could feel the gentle ache in her muscles of a night properly enjoyed.

And now, in the light of the next morning, she smiled at the sight of her sleeping husband passed out cold in their marriage bed. Her belly fluttered and her chest ached for him, not to mention the burn in her thighs and hips. With gentle fingers she touched his face, tracing the golden stubble of his jaw and the soft strands of his hair. He stirred, took a deep breath, and buried his face in the pillow for a moment before rolling onto his back with a sigh. She smiled down at him and bent to gently kiss his lips. His mouth opened slightly and then his hand slid to the back of her neck and she knew he was awake as he kissed her back softly. When they parted he blinked up at her sleepily with a smile.

“Good morning, wife,” he greeted her, making her smile widen. “Are you feeling well?”

She kissed him again briefly, pulling back before he could chase her lips. “Sore in all the right places,” she told him. His sleepy chuckle warmed her bones.

He turned serious once more as he brushed a dark strand of hair out of her eyes. “Was it good, though?” he asked sincerely. “It was… Well, you know it was my first time. I just… want you to be satisfied.”

She smiled down at him and kissed him again, then nuzzled at his nose. “You worry too much, silly man. I don’t fake my completions, I can promise you that. I judge my pleasure more important than your pride and that will never change.”

He laughed and sat up, making the blankets fall away from them both. His gaze immediately fell to her bare chest and she watched his cheeks pinken as he remembered what he’d been doing with his mouth there the night before. Then his gaze returned to her face and he kissed her again like he couldn’t help it. “Good. I’d rather you have pleasure than I keep my pride, what little of it there is,” he confessed, making her chuckle with him. “Do we have to get up today? I’m certain Eamon has plenty he wants us to do, but ugh! I’d rather just lay here with you.” He flopped back on the bed, arms around her to drag her with him. She laughed as they bounced slightly on the mattress and threw a leg over his as she settled into his embrace.

“We’re married now, and we’re the two most important people in Ferelden,” she reminded him. “Eamon can sit on it until we damn well feel doing some work.” He laughed and held her tightly, kisses raining into her hair. “Eventually I’ll need to visit with Nehna. You know she’s too young to understand my absence and I promised I’d read to her every day. But anything else will wait until tomorrow at the least!”

A gentle finger curled under her chin to tilt her face up to his. “I’ll go with you see Nehna, then. I do love that girl,” he confessed, making her smile brightly up at him. “Until then, though, I think I want to try a few things that I thought of last night. What do you think?”

She chuckled and straddled his hips to grin down at him. “I think I’d love to know what these ideas of yours are,” she told him, then laughed as they rolled around in bed.


End file.
